Treasury Escalates Sanctions Against the Russian Government's Attempts to Influence U.S. Elections  —  WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took sweeping action against 16 entities and 16 individuals who attempted to influence …

Democrats to introduce bill to expand Supreme Court from 9 to 13 justices  —  WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats will introduce legislation Thursday to expand the Supreme Court from nine to 13 justices, alongside progressive activists pushing to transform the high court.

Decision to pause Johnson & Johnson vaccine causes public confidence in vaccine to sink  —  Economist/YouGov Poll Politics & current affairs  —  Fieldwork for the latest Economist/YouGov poll on vaccine safety perceptions was in the midst of being conducted when the Centers for Disease Control …

Introducing the 2021 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index  —  The Cook Political Report is pleased to introduce the post-2020 edition of the Partisan Voter Index (PVI) for all 50 states and 435 congressional districts.  Although these district boundaries won't be in place …

CDC Identifies Small Group of Covid-19 Infections Among Fully Vaccinated Patients  —  Incidence is rare, occurring in only 0.008% of cases and in line with expectations  —  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified a small cohort of approximately 5,800 cases …

Biden Finally Got to Say No to the Generals  —  Critics be damned, the President is ending the Forever War waged by Bush, Obama, and Trump in Afghanistan.  —  On Wednesday, Joe Biden announced the close of the two-decade-long American war in Afghanistan, giving the U.S. military a deadline …

Tucker Carlson Is Giving ‘Red Pills’ To Millions.  White Nationalists Are Thrilled.  —  After the Fox News host doubled down on the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, white nationalists were excited at what it could mean for their movement.  —  After Fox News host Tucker Carlson doubled …

Matt Gaetz's Wingman Paid Dozens of Young Women—and a 17-Year-Old  —  VEN-UH-OH … Venmo payment records reveal a vast network of young women received money from Rep. Matt Gaetz's associate, the accused sex trafficker Joel Greenberg.  —  As new details emerge about Rep. Matt Gaetz's role …

We spoke with 21 of Matt Gaetz's high-school classmates.  Some say they could have predicted the congressman's sex scandal.  — Some of Matt Gaetz's former classmates spoke exclusively with Insider about his high school days.  — Gaetz, now 38, had a reputation as a know-it-all who talked over his classmates and teachers.

Accused Capitol rioter planned an escape to Switzerland, prosecutors said.  Now he'll stay in jail.  —  When Jeffrey Sabol returned to his Colorado home after allegedly storming the U.S. Capitol and assaulting two police officers on Jan. 6, he fried his electronic devices in the microwave …

17 requests for backup in 78 minutes  —  A reconstruction shows how failures of planning and preparation left police at the Capitol severely disadvantaged on Jan. 6  —  At 1:13 p.m. on Jan. 6, a D.C. police commander facing a swelling crowd of protesters on the west side of the U.S. Capitol …

Warnock off to a fast fundraising start for 2022 Senate re-election race  —  U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock has hardly slowed his torrid fundraising pace since his narrow January runoff victory.  —  The Democrat's campaign said Thursday he raised more than $5.7 million from more than 101,000 …

Kristen Clarke, Bigot and Liar  —  Having sworn to answer all questions truthfully, in an appearance Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, President Joe Biden's nominee to lead the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division offered a series of answers that strained credulity and veered into outright falsehood.

Christie to GOP Study Group: Call Biden Out as ‘a Liar’  —  Republicans are bloodied and beaten, and maybe just a little too bashful for their own good.  At least, so says Chris Christie.  —  Knocked back on their heels and forced to answer for every outrageous thing Donald Trump did …

Jobless Claims Fell to a New Pandemic Low Last Week  —  Applications for unemployment benefits have declined this year but are still historically high  —  Unemployment claims declined to the lowest level since the pandemic struck last spring, adding to signs the U.S. economic revival is picking up speed.

Inside Nancy Pelosi's War With AOC and the Squad  —  Adapted from Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power, to be published by Twelve Books on April 20.  —  “Nancy doesn't have much patience for people who don't know what they don't know.”  —  That was what a senior congressional …

J.D. Vance tells associates he plans to run for Senate in Ohio  —  J.D. Vance, venture capitalist and author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” has told friends and colleagues that he plans to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Axios has learned from multiple sources.

Biden resists raising refugee cap over political optics, sources say  —  (CNN)President Joe Biden has resisted signing off on raising the Trump-era refugee cap because of political optics, sources have told CNN.  —  The President's hesitation comes as the administration faces heat …

The GOP's most important votes: 2 Democrats  —  Keep Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema close and publicly praise them, Mitch McConnell explained, because they could “save this institution.”  —  Though moderation and deep relationships with the GOP unite them, Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin have yin-and-yang personalities.

U.S. Retail Sales Surged in March on Stimulus, Vaccines  —  Government aid, eased business restrictions and warmer weather contribute to jump in spending  —  U.S. shoppers boosted retail spending by nearly 10% in March as federal-stimulus funds made their way to households …

Macaulay Culkin's past comments and how white parents might ‘other’ their multiracial children  —  As fans celebrate the birth of Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song's son, comments Culkin made in a past podcast interview are drawing criticism among Asian Americans.